Paige - UConn superstar, one of the best to come to our university.

[oldude]

I mentioned something similar in my postgame thread comment, that Paige seems oppressed somehow. And you may have hit on the reason -- the departure of Aaliyah and Nika.

It's not about the skill level of her teammates, but personalities. Aaliyah was a rock everyone could lean on, and Nika brought the emotional fire any great team needs. With them gone, now Paige has to supply all of that by herself -- she needs to be both the rock and the fire. That's a lot to ask of anyone. Sarah is a great talent, maybe we'll find that she's greater than Aaliyah in the next few years, but she is not fiery. And Azzi is also not a fiery personality -- she can dominate a game with a smile, but not with the fiery roar Nika would bring. Aubrey is certainly not going to bring that sort of fire either. And KK and Ash can be incredible forces on the court, even if they can also be inconsistent.

I don't think Geno is being mean to Paige -- and the other more mature players: Azzi, Kaitlyn, Aubrey. He's trying to provoke a response from them, and this is one of the tools in his little kit for getting what the team needs from its leaders.

So, the question is, if Geno's gambit works, who do we think will step up and supply the fire next to Paige? My money is on KK, who is the most Nika-like of the current Huskies. She may need more minutes to have the impact Geno is looking for, though I don't think it matters whether she starts or not. In November, I had hoped Jana might bring the fire, since that's who she was in her pre-injury days. But she hasn't been able to do that for the team yet.

Again, In my postgame thread I indicated my preference for KK to start at pg and Aubrey to start at center.

 

[BobbyJ]

LOL, a generation is 15-20 years. It will be difficult anyway to choose the generational talent of this generation of players.

Pick one of Stewie, Wilson, Ionescu, DelleDonne, Clark, Bueckers, Collier, Boston, Hidalgo, JuJu, Strong.

Many very good players, players of the year, but only one of this group can be the generational player.

Finally, someone understands that there's not 2-3 coming out of HS every year. Has to be the most ridiculous description anyone has come up with to compare BB players.

 

[hoopsfan22]

LOL, a generation is 15-20 years. It will be difficult anyway to choose the generational talent of this generation of players.

Pick one of Stewie, Wilson, Ionescu, DelleDonne, Clark, Bueckers, Collier, Boston, Hidalgo, JuJu, Strong.

Many very good players, players of the year, but only one of this group can be the generational player.

My vote is for Stewie. The rest of the players on that list are very good, but no where near the level of Stewie.

 

[PacoSwede]

I mentioned something similar in my postgame thread comment, that Paige seems oppressed somehow. And you may have hit on the reason -- the departure of Aaliyah and Nika.

It's not about the skill level of her teammates, but personalities. Aaliyah was a rock everyone could lean on, and Nika brought the emotional fire any great team needs. With them gone, now Paige has to supply all of that by herself -- she needs to be both the rock and the fire. That's a lot to ask of anyone.....

100% why the huskies are out of sorts. it was doubtful that paige could fill these roles in addition to everything else, and it has proved to be true. the dilemma is that others on the team have not stepped up to fill the gap. but first, they have to be aware of the gap, and even if they do it requires a special personality to implement. time is running out. it's a big issue to be solved. maybe kk is the answer, maybe someone else, maybe no one fits. but it's not for paige to magically correct. talk about too much pressure, too much stress. she's been amazing in dealing with it.

 

[Jmsdawg]

My vote is for Stewie. The rest of the players on that list are very good, but no where near the level of Stewie.

I agree with Stewie but Hidalgo certainly has the potential to be “generational”, I also agree with the caliber of players available generational may soon be shorten to best in class. Stewie was the most dominant WBB player I saw play the game, she was a WINNER!

 

[hoy-ah!]

I support all the posts before on Paige needing to be at PG. You need a player who's been in the program a minimum of two years to get and be comfortable with the offense. Moreover, you need 5 who have a lot of experience in the system. My starting 5 would be Paige, Azzi/Ashlynn, KK, Aubrey, Sarah. You need Sarah at the top to facilitate the motion/shoot/drive, which Jana or Ice are unable to. KC is a good player, but KK/Ashlynn have more experience in the offense. It would have been nice to have obtained a serviceable big in the portal.

Offense seems to be disjointed right now against tougher competition. Whichever team they play, the offense looks "robotic", going through the motions. This has led to poor decisions, turnovers, shots (measured shots). I believe having only 8 to play last year hardened the team and made them more resilient, focused, and aware. The fire and competitiveness was there. Maybe start sticking to a 7-8 player rotation for players to gain familiarity with each other. I long to see a supremely confident team operating at its best, win or lose with joy/happiness. (Adage: It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game; BUT, if you're going to play, play to win.) It takes a team (village?). It's not all on PB and shouldn't be.

 

[Jonathan14]

I commented on Paige’s joy or lack there of a few weeks back. Aaliyah and Nika are gone. I suspect their departure has put a lot more pressure on Paige. Like you, I would love to see Paige play with the same freedom and joy that she showed us all during her freshman season.

She reminded me of DT’s emotional breakdown during her jr year at UConn, after teammates Sue, Swin, Asjha & Tamika were all drafted into the pros. DT felt the pressure to carry the Huskies to another championship, which she did, but it wasn’t easy for her.

I think you're exactly right, @oldude, and the comparison to Diana in her junior year is an apt one.

I'd like to offer one more comparison, if I may. Several of us have noted how KK often performs well in UConn's biggest games. She also seems to be one of our most fun-loving, joyful players. From what I've seen, she has a joie de vivre off the court that turns into a fire on the court. Though a tremendous athlete, she's not the basketball prodigy that Paige is, but that spark she has does remind me of that spunky freshman who was the first ever to be named NPOY.

So how do we help Paige get her joy back? Have Aaliyah and Nika pursue graduate degrees and move back on campus?

 

[Bone Dog]

I also think KK may be the best candidate before Kelis arrives. But there's a subtle difference between a sweet jokester and an on-court fire-breather. We need the merry jokester for off campus interactions, for team building, but on court we need a field marshal. Can KK become this? I hope so. Since I only see games on TV, I don't hear the on-court voices. Does anyone have a better sense of how KK's voice sounds live in a game?

Whose voice is the most forceful in huddles? And loudest while running the offense and defense? Currently, that's Paige. But she needs someone to be even louder than her.

 

[Cuango]

It’s difficult to say exactly what this team is missing byond the fact that we have some (quite a few) players that simply don’t seem able to step up under big pressure! Paige used to be the bestI’ve ever seen at it! I think she still has that in even though she has been struggling ltely. Let’s face it, what lost us the Tenn. game was very simple. We could not make any shots! Why? That is the big question that needs to be answered going forward. Obviously, Tennessee’s pressure had something (a lot?, a little?) to do with it. However, we had multiple open threes and layups that simply clanked off the rim.

The question is; did we simply have a bad shooting night, or were our players so rattled from the pressure, the “big game” atmosphere, that they tightened up and changed their shot? It is an important question because our potential (basketball) future essentially will likely be determined by the answer. If it was simply a bad shooting night, then we can probably live with it and work on ways to lessen those kinds of performances. If it’s the other, well, let’s just say Geno has a real problem on his hands. Are there ways to fix the yips? I don’t know.

I do know that this team woke up Friday morning with the same amount of talent as we had before the game when most of us felt fairly confident we would win. This is an enigmatic team, but clearly, we have plenty of talent to win against anyone! I feel bad for Geno, I believe he desperately wants to win a title for Paige! He has always built his coaching approach around entering the tournament with his team playing it’s best. Can he do it again? I believe so!